Atari Boxes and Manuals

[IceBreaker]

Curious where you find your boxes and manuals. (Besides buying games only that have the boxes and manuals)

I've browsed overpriced-bay and generally the lots are far and few and the single manuals are like 5-10 bucks plus another $10 shipping etc. Yet to see empty game boxes. Even far fewer here in Canada.

 

What do you consider a fair price for a loose game manual or empty box etc? (assuming some wear and tear)

 

Favorite places to find them?

 

My collection to date is a handful of game manuals i was lucky to buy off someone with some games and a few CIB games i bought for a dollar each. Not something i see everyday unfortunately So mostly i have loose games (150 or so) , and wishing i had manuals and or boxes for them.

 

Or am i better off finding CIB's for those games and then selling/trading off the loose games as i buy/find a CIB? (Sounds expensive )

 

Curious to see what everyone else does.

[DickNixonArisen]

I only really care about having the cart, but lots of flea market dealers will happily give you a handfull of manuals if you buy just a few games, even ones that don't match. Singly off of E-bay sucks hard, and I only do it for games I truly love and want to have a complete box for (MUSHA and Ikaruga). Bulk Lots of Manuals off of ebay are much better, as long as you don't have half or more of the titles. Reminds me, I have a bulk lot of GEN/SNES that I need to get off my butt and list sometime this month. Junk stores, Flea Markets and Yard Sales are your best bets, even if you are forced into the horror of also buying games and decks (ohh nooo). Second best bet is right here in the marketplace - lots of us have plenty of doubles on boxes/manuals and are willing to trade as long as they're interesting enough ones to bother with postage.

[DickNixonArisen]

Oh and if you don't mind (I sure as hell do) having fake ones, you can get a full scan of just about any box from some of the friendly folks here, print it out on thin white cardstock, do a little cutting and a little careful folding, and have a a really nice-looking replacement for a hard-to-find box (but a dirty Fake nonetheless! Shameless! Scandanfrabtulous!)

[pinball22]

I'm really into manuals/catalogs/any piece of paper that came with a game... I've done well buying lots off of eBay. I'm going to have a trade thread in the marketplace sometime soon once I finish sorting my latest acquisitions.

[AJ_Maine_Man]

I have found a few good deals on Craigslist for boxed systems and games. I usually buy off ebay and just look and wait for really cheap deals.I think prices are higher now that the BIG AIR RAID game sold on ebay. Oh Atari2600.com is a great place to find boxed games too. I am kinda cheap do to my expanding family so I usually try to buy boxed games for around 5 bucks a piece.

[IceBreaker]

I've never really had much luck with thrift stores and flea markets in my area. (unless you are looking for clothes) Soo i guess i'll just have to keep looking for lot sales on ebay or here on the marketplace or craigslist/kijiji etc.

 

But i know manuals and boxes is def on my "want " list. I just gathered buying CIB games to replace the loose cart's would be expensive and feel like starting over again Maybe i'll get lucky and find a big boxed lot one of these days *Daydreams*

 

and yeah prices do seem like they have gotten kinda crazy as of late. you know its bad when the manuals are listed on ebay in many cases for more than the games lol.

[DickNixonArisen]

Sad, but it makes sense... the games are more durable than the manuals.

 

 

hang in there on the boxed games, you'll go a year without seeing anything but combat and then find 30 clean nice ones with rares... just how it goes.

[Zwackery]

What do you consider a fair price for a loose game manual or empty box etc? (assuming some wear and tear)

Obviously that depends on rarity. There are many examples where the manual and/or box is actually worth more than the loose cartridge. So, let's keep those out of the equation and talk about R5 and lower titles. Back when I was buying boxes (empty or with carts and/or manuals) in lots, I'd flip a box & manual for about $5. Now I'd go for about $2. Remember, this is my outlook on it - I'm known for making deals, for passing along savings, and for being satisfied with a little reimbursement back towards my initial outlay.

 

Favorite places to find them?

In the wild is extremely hard at this point, so unless you go straight to one of the online retailers, eBay is where it's at. Buy in bulk lots, take out what you need, and flip the rest back out. I actually think now is a great time for building a boxed library, especially R1-R4 (and even into some R5s) as the prices are much, much cheaper than they were just a few years ago. Games that would have gotten at least $5 CIB are now going for less than a dollar. Just be a smart shopper.

 

Or am i better off finding CIB's for those games and then selling/trading off the loose games as i buy/find a CIB? (Sounds expensive )

Buy the loose carts, then resell when you find a CIB version. Save up your loose ones, then put them out to make some money back. While there is some cost involved, it's not as expensive as you think. That's what I did with at least 100 of the games in my collection.

[shadow460]

Places like Vintage Stock will get a tons of boxes in from time to time. You just have to be patient and go there often. Aside from there, the best place I've found for manuals and boxes is AA marketplace, followed by Craigslist.

[IceBreaker]

yeah I am starting to see that trading and buying from the great members here at AtariAge looks to be the best way to find manuals and boxes.

Lots of cool people here.